Hold

Hold, Book 1

By: Claire Kent

Narrated by: Kirsten Leigh

Find the strongest man there. Give yourself to him in return for protection. It’s the only way you’ll ever survive.

Convicted of a minor crime, Riana is sentenced to a prison planet—a dark primitive hold filled with convicts vying for power. Her only chance of survival is with Cain, a mysterious loner who has won his territory in the prison through intelligence and brute strength. Sex is all she has to offer, so she uses it. She’s under no delusions here. No one is ever released, and no one ever escapes. Survival is all she can hope for—until Cain.

©2014 Claire Kent (P)2025 Noelle Adams

Good listen, a little spice heavy

This was a fun, fast read, and I loved the prison planet setting! I wish the book had been longer. The romance focused too much on spice and not enough on the tension and development between the main characters. I will continue to read the series because I bought all of the audiobooks. 😂

Sci-fi space romance!

3.5 stars. Hold is the first book in the Hold series by Claire Kent and it’s a sci-fi/futuristic romance that actually takes us to a prison planet!

When the story starts, Riana is convicted of a minor crime and sent to a prison planet. Genus 6 is the planet, the entire planet is covered by a volatile, poisonous ocean and beneath that is the prison. So basically if you get sent to the prison, you’re screwed even if you manage to escape. Said prison has become a kind of violent, “anything goes” place, with prisoners battling for safety, food, and whatever resources they can get their hands on. Riana is given advice before going to the planet and it’s basically if she wants to survive she needs to find the strongest man there and give herself to him in return for protection. She finds Cain, a mysterious loner type who won his territory in the prison through intelligence and brute strength and she joins up with him quickly.

This had a unique and interesting premise and I enjoyed it! It was on the shorter side, at less than 200 pages so it moved quickly and kept me entertained. The close/forced proximity of Cain and Riana sticking together in the prison lead to some delicious times. I liked seeing them open up with one another and his alpha/protective tendencies come out in a sweet way. I still enjoyed this author’s post apocalyptic romance series, Kindled (and that whole world) more, but this was solid too!

Needs lighter (or pulpy) cover art

From the dark cover and summary, I was thinking this was going to be gritty, rough sci-fi erotica. Instead, it’s more like a romance set in Crematoria in the movie Riddick. While there were a handful of sex scenes, they’re rather quick, almost perfunctory, and consensual. I actually would have liked a bit more fire, and maybe some dirty talk or some juicier descriptions.

Thankfully, however, the decent naughty parts were paired with a surprisingly sweet romance and an entertaining prison adventure with some good sci-fi features.

If you are craving a prison sci-fi with hardcore MMMMFsmut, try Ferocious by Aurora Caine. It’s all scorch and burn and minimal story. Personally, I prefer a novella with more story, even if the naughty bits are just good, and not great.

Find the strongest man & give yourself to him -!

Any additional comments?

I was so intrigued by the premise that, even though at the time (when the ebook first came out) I didn't think Sci Fi was my thing.
This is the book that changed my mind.
I loved it.
(And in fact, sci fi dark romance books are now my main reads)
I could talk about the bones of the book, but you have the blurb up there.
I'd love to dissect the unique mechanics of this couple's relationship, but I can't do that without spoilers.
Here's what I can tell you:
I WAS SO EXCITED to find this come out in audio!! And Kirsten Leigh is FABULOUS --- I was already familiar with her work (Preppy with Lance Greenfield anybody? *happy swooon* and Leigh has read Listed under this author's penname) and her voice talents shine beautifully with Hold too. It's funny; I prefer to read when I can, I just don't have the time anymore. But when I love the book, and the narrator is amazing, it can rival the experience of curling up and physically reading a book now - and Kirsten pulled that off with Hold. There is a line in this story where the heroine's voice is supposed to break in an emotional moment, and Kirsten did it *perfectly* --- I clapped. Seriously. I love great audiobooks, and this one was such a treat; I am beyond thrilled that I can listen to it whenever I want now --- and, it's worth noting, this book made it to my All Time Favorites list. The list of books that I'd want with me if I was stranded on a deserted, primitive island.
(A primitive island with electricity so that I can charge my kindle & phone of course or I'm gonna need everything in paperback...)
THAT'S how much I love this book.

Great Short story

Good narration and story line. Would have like for a longer story that focused more on the two main characters. Epilogue could have been a better happy ending.